HEAD OF THE CLASS: Giants coach Tom Coughlin taps Victor Cruz on the shoulder during practice on Thursday as the team prepared to face the Steelers in their attempt to improve to 7-2 as they defend their Super Bowl championship. Photo: N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg

HEAD OF THE CLASS: Giants coach Tom Coughlin taps Victor Cruz on the shoulder during practice on Thursday as the team prepared to face the Steelers in their attempt to improve to 7-2 as they defend their Super Bowl championship. (
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The reminders are everywhere. They are painted on walls, written on T-shirts, printed on playbooks. And they stick, thanks to the sage messenger who has become one of the most underrated motivators in the coaching profession: Giants coach Tom Coughlin.

“Finish.’’

That was Coughlin’s theme to last season after his team had suffered too many late-season collapses for his 66-year-old stomach to handle in previous years. So Coughlin incorporated the word as the team’s rallying cry and the Giants responded, winning their last six games, including the Super Bowl.

“Build the bridge.’’

That has been Coughlin’s call for 2012, a message to his players to build a bridge from their Super Bowl victory in February to a repeat performance in February 2013 in New Orleans.

As they enter tomorrow’s game against the Steelers (4-3) at MetLife Stadium, the Giants (6-2) are halfway through the regular season to building that bridge to the playoff tournament, where they can begin their title defense.

The Giants, who before last year followed three of their first four Super Bowl appearances by missing the playoffs the next season, have a 2 1/2-game lead over the Eagles and Cowboys in the NFC East and appear to be cruising toward a playoff berth.

A win over the Steelers, considered one of the top contenders in the AFC, would strengthen that bridge and further solidify Coughlin as one of the most shrewd motivators among NFL head coaches.

Who, after all, was more prophetic than Coughlin was with that “finish’’ theme a year ago? And how much would his legend grow if his team builds that bridge to the Big Easy three months from now?

“When we have something as powerful as those [themes] then that becomes an easy way for us to recall exactly what this is about for us,’’ Coughlin told The Post yesterday. “We really weren’t pleased with the way we finished for years before last year. We really believed that those six games last year were emblematic of what we believe in and how we like to play and we wanted to bring those things forward.’’

So, enter “build the bridge.”

It’s easy to be a cynic and look at those sayings of Coughlin’s as coach-speak without much substance. That, however, is not the way his players see it.

“It’s always nice to have something to rely on and a message to keep referring to during the season,’’ Eli Manning said.

“Some people might look at [the sayings] as window dressing, but once you’ve been around him and you see what it takes to win in the NFL, to have that verbal key and to have it plastered on the wall and on shirts it’s just an easy reminder that there’s only one way to win and that’s Coughlin’s way,’’ long snapper Zak DeOssie said. “These things are not picked out of a bag blindly. They always correlate in some way to our locker room.’’

Defensive tackle Chris Canty bristled at the notion Coughlin’s sayings and themes are anything but a powerful motivational tool.

“Outsiders don’t understand, but we do, so it makes sense to us and that’s all that matters,’’ Canty said.

“It is motivational, because it keeps pounding the message about things to pay attention to,’’ guard Kevin Boothe said. “He tries to find something that really applies to us. The ‘finish’ mentality is still there now, but also it’s about building the bridge from how we played last year at the end to this year.

“We’ve gotten off to a decent start so now let’s keep going, finish strong and get to where we want to be.’’

Tackle Will Beatty said: “We’re building a bridge from last season, where we were at the pinnacle of the sport, to this season, when we’ve had to start all over. You have to build the bridge and connect it. Each game you’re building it toward the final destination.’’

That destination is New Orleans, where, like as beacon of light, a second consecutive Vince Lombardi Trophy stands at the other side of the bridge.